Personal Microderm for Home Microdermabrasion

You’ve no doubt heard of microdermabrasion. You go into a spa or a dermatologist and they go at the skin on your face—or elsewhere—with a machine. It buffs away the top few layers of skin and gives you an overall youthful glow.

But, microdermabrasion treatments can be expensive. That’s why I tried the Personal Microderm. It’s a home microdermabrasion system. That’s right, you can do it at home.

While I’ve never had a microdermabrasion treatment from a professional before, that didn’t stop me from trying this at-home version. If it can do a good job and costs less than an in-office treatment, then it’s a pretty good value, right?

What do you get?

Personal Microderm comes with a few things to help you with the experience.

You get:

The Personal Microderm handheld machine.

A power cord.

2 caps for 2 different-sized exfoliating pads.

2 large blue pads, and 2 small.

1 large green pad, and 1 small.

Informational DVD.

The smaller exfoliating pads are for getting around tough areas, like around your nose. The bigger ones are good for other areas, like your forehead and cheeks.

The exfoliating pads are color-coded too. Blue is for beginners or for those with sensitive skin. Green is for tougher skin.

I highly recommend watching the DVD first. It’s not very long and it shows you exactly how to use Personal Microderm. I would have been lost with out it.

How do you use it?

Following the directions in the DVD, you insert the exfoliating disc into the unit, then screw on the corresponding cap.

When you’re ready, here’s what you do:

Wash your face thoroughly with cleanser. Rinse it off and let it dry completely.

Plug in the Personal Microderm. Slide the power button on the side to turn it on.

Pull your skin taut, then touch the unit to your skin until it suctions into place. Drag the unit across your skin.

Wipe your face clean once you’re all done in order to get rid of flakes of dry skin.

Use toner and moisturizer.

Personal Microderm suggests you do this once a week for a month, once every two weeks for another month, and then once a month after that for maintenance.

How well did it work?

The Personal Microderm is kind of startling. At least it was for me, anyway. The first time I touched it to my skin, my eyes widened like in a cartoon. See, the unit does two things:

It creates suction, like a vacuum, to suck your skin to the unit.

The exfoliating pad rotates at high speed to buff your skin.

It made me feel like my skin was being both vacuumed and buffed with a sander at the same time. Honestly, it’s pretty hardcore. This is definitely not some cheap at-home unit that barely works. Nope, it does the job.

My skin turned red where I used it, but this redness didn’t last long. Once my skin settled down, it looked a lot better than it had before. I even got compliments!

A note: This thing is kind of loud. It makes a grinding/vibrating sound. I can only imagine what my landlady must have thought, hearing that through the walls.

But is it worth it?

Normally I don’t include price as a big part of reviews since one person’s “expensive” is another person’s “cheap.” But since I’m comparing this to microdermabrasion done by a professional, it seems relevant here.

Personal Microderm has a suggested retail price of $179.99 (though it’s often on sale at DermStore.com).

That’s kind of a lot. And if you can’t afford it, well, you can’t afford it.

But let’s compare it to professional microdermabrasion. Prices from the pros vary, but most cost between $125 and $300 per session. But, see, you can use Personal Microderm multiple times.

Is it worth it? Sure! Especially if you would have gone to a professional anyway. Those $300 visits really add up.

The Final Verdict

I was very impressed with how my skin looked and felt after I used Personal Microderm. I even got compliments. Since the unit does grind at your skin, even with the blue “beginner” exfoliating pads, this may not be a good idea for people with really sensitive or thin skin. Also, the price is a bit high (though good when you compare it to the real thing.) For these reasons, I give Personal Microderm a…